n.
Any plant with fleshy, thick tissues adapted to water storage.
Some succulents (e.g., the cactus ) store water only in the stem and have no leaves or very small leaves; others (e.g., agaves ) store water mainly in the leaves. Most have deep or broad root systems and are native to either deserts or regions that have a semiarid season. In succulents, the stomata (see stoma ) close during the day and open at night
the opposite of the usual pattern
in order to minimize transpiration .